In Spirit, Mind and Body:
Shifting from fear to LOVE one aha at a time.

Monday, December 23, 2013

My two cents on Phil Robertson

I'm tired of hearing about Duck Dynasty yet I have to put my two cents in. I was obsessed for a few days and in shock and dismay at seeing my FB wall blow up in support of Phil Robertson. I have let everything I have read seep in and lo and behold I have the same exact position that I have come to after years of thoughtful deliberation and soul searching on the topic. After having posted a few weeks ago of "coming out of the closet" as a supporter of LGBT on this blog...bam, my home state makes national news about Christianity and anti-gay and our Governor throwing in his two cents about First Amendment rights.

Sigh.

Mr. Robertson did not go to jail for his opinions, he was indefinitely suspended from employment by his employer with whom I'm sure there was a contract that had a clause just for this. It is not a First Amendment issue and Governor Jindal needs to brush up on that one. I know Jindal is supporting his taxable income from the northern parish.

I don't watch Duck Dynasty so I am coming to know Mr. Robertson by what I read in the full GQ article, and from many testamonials and then I happened upon this video I found from 2010 of Mr. Robertson preaching in Pottstown, PA at a church.

His Christianity is not my Christianity. And yet we can both still call ourselves Christians. I am completely flummoxed at how people can cherry pick the verses out of the Bible to follow and then judge and damn others to hell on these specially picked verses, leaving out many other dictates in their wake. Jesus said nothing about homosexual relations. Jesus spread a message of LOVE. What Mr. Robertson said was crude and vile.
(And what do the above words do to move others to Jesus? It sounds like hate and fear mongering. The GQ article is starting to seem slick now. How is that spreading a message of God's love for us?)

Well, I CAN guess how some verses are picked out to follow and those become traditional values that are never questioned.

Fear. Righteousness sure feels better than living in uncertainty.

What Mr. Robertson crassly spewed was his judgement from HIS interpretation of the Bible and that's not even touching what he said about blacks in the South before civil rights. His logic is that because he heard no black person tell him (a white person) that he was unhappy, that their unhappiness did not exist. His interpretation of his specific experience. Does he think that there was no unjust, racist, criminal behavior anywhere, ever?

He has every right to his opinion, and I have every right to mine. I have spent my adulthood moving past speeches like his, and the last few years learning to voice my inner thoughts.

And this is where I stand. The video below is from a woman named Ash Beckham and she is a lesbian, I think. It doesn't matter to me. Her message contains love and understanding and how we need to be real with each other and have the hard conversations that improve our lives. I would rather hear this message every day than hear someone hiding behind a bible using selected verses and ignoring others to deem themselves superior and pick on a particular group where the youth are killing themselves rather than trying to live with a society of this brand of messaging. I'm so tired of that message. I run away from that message.

Ms. Beckham's message is inspiring and Christlike. It's about loving ourselves and others. It is evolved.

Mr. Robertson is a child of God as is every being born. I don't hate him but I strongly disagree with his message. God's message through Jesus is one of love. I eat shellfish. I don't cover my head in church. I slept in the bed with my husband when I use to have menses. My husband doesn't take a shower after we "know" each other, etc, etc. Even though the bible supports rape and slavery, I don't. I am interpreting God's message through Jesus throughout the whole Bible and my bottom line is love.

Love versus fear. I choose love every time. It's not always the easy path but it is my path.

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About Me

Shifting from Fear to Love one day at a time. Spiritual pilgrim, blog writer, dabble in decluttering, book lover, I am now secure enough to admit I love to watch the Bravo Housewives. I live with a wonderful husband and two daughters whom I adore and all are pushing the right buttons to evolve me further. We also have two rescue cats, two rescue dogs, and one of each of the following: Beta fish, goldfish, minnow and snail.